IFC/Citizen Power statement on Sulu Sou’s Victory

On September 18th, 2017, Macau’s semi-democratic elections resulted in an unprecedented victory for the democratic movement, securing 5 of the available 14 seats. This victory included the appointment of 26-year-old Sulu Sou, making him the city’s youngest-ever lawmaker. IFC team celebrates Sou’s unprecedented victory and congratulate him for his unwavering passion to bring democracy to Macau.

Sulu Sou is the deputy director of New Macau Student Association and attended the 8th and 9th Interethnic Interfaith Leadership Conferences. The conference was founded in 2000 by then Foundation for China in the 21st Century president, Dr Yang Jianli. The conference empowers young leaders from Han Chinese, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, to build trust, understanding, and friendship for a common goal of democratic change in PRC.

Sulu Sou’s victory as a part of the New Macau Association shows hopeful trends for a peaceful transition to democracy, as young citizens take up progressive ideals in Macau’s electorate. Mr Sou won one of the 14 available seats that are available for direct election from the populace. The rest of the 19 seats to make up the 33-seat legislature are filled by pro-establishment labor unions, special interests, or appointees of Macau’s Beijing-backed leader.

Sou’s party, the New Macau Association, favors full democracy for all 33-seats, and the continued presence of the pro-democratic movement not only in Macau but in Hong-kong and China is a confident indicator for better things to come.

We must also remember the difficulties and hardships that Sulu Sou and many of his colleagues have endured to reach this landmark. In the past, Sou and his fellow members of the New Macau Association have faced government-backed confiscation of their books, censorship at Macau’s universities and a general apathy from the population. But Sulu and his friends have continued the march for a peaceful transition to democracy, and we believe their newly gained momentum will not stop with this election.

As Sulu Sou declared his victory the morning after the vote, Mr Sou thanked his family and his mentor Chan Wai-chi and asked the citizens and members of New Macau Students Association to monitor the next 4 years of his work in the legislation. IFC/Citizen Power wish Mr Sou the best on his new journey as a lawmaker and look forward to his next 4 years of hard work.